The future of flights?
AP Photo/Christian Hartmann
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Although I'm proud to have hosted my first eco- and socially- responsible yoga retreat, I knew it couldn't be both abroad and perfectly green.
So long as airplanes run on climate change-causing fossil fuels, my Caribbean yoga week--no matter how life-changing, uplifting and beneficial to my retreat guests and the local economy--would still leave a hefty carbon footprint due to air travel. Despite my organizing the carbon offset of our flights, carbon offsetting helps--but doesn't 100 percent correct.
I daydreamed of the day our flights would leave a zero-carbon trail.
Future Voyages--Powered by the Sun
After last week's news, it seems my green dream might actualize. Thanks to Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, a prototype solar plane took a fuel-free lift off and jaunt. The two-hour flight was a test to see if the aircraft boasting the wingspan of a Boeing 747 and the weight of a small car, could keep a straight trajectory. And it sounds as though all is successfully on track.
Piccard's team plans to fly the prototype around the world next year and build a newer plane based on the results of their tests.
Perhaps it will take much more time for the science to perfect but this green girl can dream and anxiously wait!
Read more about the solar plane in the New York Times
More on Air Travel:
5 Ways to Green Your Flight
Choose a Green Airline
How Green is the Airline Industry, Really?
